MILWAUKEE >> When Bria Hartley returned to campus in August after helping the United States team win the FIBA 3x3 World Championships, she was loving life.

Never feeling better about her game and she couldn't wait for the UConn women's basketball team to get to work during official practice.

Then it all started to get away from her. The ankle she injured during the 3x3 event was not responding the way she had hoped and the more she tried to play through the pain the more damage she did. Finally Hartley fessed up that she was having problems with the troublesome ankle.

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Much to her disdain she was told to sit, not for a matter of days but weeks. The weeks began to fly by and an inactive Hartley felt helpless.

After missing the first two games of the season, Hartley was able to return to the court in time for the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, while she was able to resume playing, her confidence was clearly shaken. Shots that she would normally make with ease were no longer a sure thing and even worse, she hesitated to hoist up jumpers she normally attempted without so much as a second thought.

When Hartley hit 14 of 21 shots in back to back games against Oakland and Hartford, it seems as if she was all the way back. However, going 7 of 20 in games against Stanford and Notre Dame and being benched for all but seven minutes against Oregon made it clear she was not all the way back yet. When Hartley was 1 for 7 in the first half against Georgetown including 0 for 6 from 3-point range, it seemed as if her trials and tribulations were no closer to being put behind her. Then, without warning, it happened. In a span of 82 seconds Hartley connected on three straight 3-pointers against Georgetown.

The next step comes when UConn plays at Marquette (4 p.m., SNY). For Hartley, she knows that one good half of offensive basketball does not signal that she is all the way back.

"I don't think one good game (will do it) because you look at the game like Oakland and you will see a good game for me individually and it didn't all come back right away," Hartley said. "It is just something I have to continue to work on.

"It starts in practice, get a few good practices. Those days will turn into weeks, the week (turn) into months so that is what you want to do."

If there was a word to describe Hartley during her days at North Babylon High School and her first two seasons with UConn it was "confident."

Yet, there was a sense of uncertainty which crept into Hartley's game this season.

"It is tough, I am not going to lie," Hartley said. "It is one of the toughest things to overcome but as long as I know my teammates are there to motivate me and I am going to push myself.

"It is difficult. I feel like my confidence was very high coming into the season. I felt like I was in the best shape of my life and I don't feel like I am at that point right now so I have to take extra steps, get extra workouts and keep working on things and make sure I have my teammates pushing me and keep working on. I need to improve on going to the basket, finishing around the rim and work on my defense."

Her teammates have never lost faith in Hartley's ability to be an impactful player this season.

"I think she has got to get back to where she was mentally last year, she has been out a lot this season," UConn sophomore Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis said. "She has missed a lot of practices, her ankle is messed up. When you are a good player like Bria you want to come back and automatically do all the things you can do before you can hurt and it doesn't work like that. It is a gradual process, you have to give it time and I think when she relaxes and lets the game come to her she will be a lot better."